"And yet he never communicated with me in the first place!"
"I know, he's insufferable. I'm going to fire him next chance I get."
"No, believe me that's not necessary."
"Yes, I'm getting on it."
"Yes."
"Of course."
"No, really don't worry about it."
"Spare me the details."
"Alright, call me when you hear from him."
Dead quiet once the phone was slammed into its holder, and San ran his tongue over his chapped lips as he turned his office chair to face the door.
"You can come in, Wooyoung." The door slid so effortlessly to reveal the boy standing there, wearing a tight shirt tucked into his black jeans, and San ushered him over to sit beside him.
"I didn't think it was polite to listen in on your conversation." He commented sarcastically, giving him a provocative gaze, which San simply disregarded at first notice.
"Oh we're beyond that, aren't we? I have no secrets." Wooyoung lifted his mouth into a weak smile, feeling the texture of the desk which wrapped around the room to create a very modern and sleek effect. The design something Wooyoung prided himself in creating, and San was very pleased with his work. Each screen a different size to emphasize the importance of certain views as the footage stretched across the main wall. He had everyone there to observe.
"They're boring already, I'm not sure if this was the best idea." Wooyoung whined in a tone which would make San angry most of the time, but he simply responded coldly.
"I did my research, they are most certainly not boring. Don't question me, Woo, I've been stressed enough as it is." San felt Wooyoung's careful stare to the side of his head, but he didn't face him again.
"And there isn't a person in the whole world who could help you." Wooyoung dramatically spun in his chair with the back of his hand pressed against his forehead in a stereotypical theatre pose. San pushed his chair far to the side, only for Wooyoung to scoot back pathetically to rejoin him with his work.
"I wouldn't give yourself any credit." San snipped, handing him a paper to sign, which he did quickly with a very effective ink pen which he had been growing fond of. San noticed these things about him, whether or not he truly wanted to. Still, he wouldn't make eye contact, instead focusing on the serum mixing agonizingly slow in a small bowl on the desk in front of him. He handed Wooyoung another paper to sign before he pulled out a small syringe to gather all of the liquid.
"What am I putting my name on?" He signed regardless, the contents of which he signed covered by a thick piece of card-stock to only reveal the signature line.
"Don't you know better than to ask?" San finally turned to look at him properly, and lingered with careful eyes before handing him the syringe. The liquid was orange, festering and changing shades as it bubbled in the barrel. Wooyoung smirked, and intercepted the syringe in order to place it in the container which held the rest of them. San went back to adding the ingredients to start another batch. He worked tirelessly to provide one and an extra for each patient attending the experiment that day.
"San, I simply desire answers." San abruptly stopped his work and turned off the machine.
"Do you want me to make them wait?"
"Are they in a hurry?"
"I guess not." San couldn't help but allow his eyes to linger on the skin which the collar of Wooyoung's shirt showed.
"Then let me take care of it."
"Wooyoung I'm perfectly fine-"
"I don't care." He interrupted, and slid San's chair to the side while he continued his work at the bowl, adding drops of the certain melted drug at the perfect ratio written on a small laminated note card with San's delicate handwriting with a purple pen. San allowed himself the break, having difficulty with breathing in the fumes the serum created. He got up slowly to turn on the fan located in the back in order to fully ventilate the room. "You should sleep since nothing will happen for the first few minutes." Wooyoung attempted to reason, looking over his shoulder at San's petite frame messing with the small fan.
"Those first few minutes are crucial. I should be paying attention now really." He walked back over to Wooyoung to hover over his work, taking a deep breath even with the smoke rising from the mixture.
"You're an idiot, and this is a bad idea."
"According to the paper you just signed, you think this is a great idea. Now Wooyoung, be a darling and deliver those for me when you're finished, I have something to take care of."
"Bitch." Wooyoung muttered under his breath, but still continued to mix the intoxicating serum, not even sparing San a glance as he walked out of the observation room.
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"Jiu, listen I don't have time for you all to mess around."
"San, if you would just listen to what I'm saying." Jiu gathered a stack of paper, and San leaned against the wall of the lab, observing her actions carefully. "The results we gathered from your last test aren't in favor of you being able to walk around carelessly any longer, we aren't messing around, it's the truth."
San ripped the papers out of her fingers, and glanced over them, and skimmed the lines quickly.
"We can't deny it any longer, it's Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, everyone has been confirming it." Jiu scanned through another document before placing it on the stack.
"We're missing something." He found himself saying, and looked at her unamused expression, her long nails looking deadly under the white light. He winced at her lack of empathy.
"This is why we are doing this." She was right, and San was at a loss of words. He knew what he had even though he never read it or saw any results. His symptoms were enough to prove it without a brain scan. He wasn't willing to accept his fate, though. And no one could convince him otherwise. Besides, they were all being paid too handsomely to turn down this offer. This experiment could save his life, he just needed to play his cards right.
The results confirmed the growth of several tumors in his brain, let alone those in his kidneys and his spine. Several were benign, but he wasn't lucky with a few more. For most, this diagnosis and these results would leave one bed bound until their death.
"When they are injected, will I be able to see results quickly? I'm much too exhausted to keep up right now." San admitted, and she softened her expression which San appreciated in the moment.
"Unfortunately not. But I was speaking with Wooyoung and he said-"
"Never mind that. Please contact your team and relieve Wooyoung from his responsibility to administer, I want it done efficiently." He harshly ordered, exiting the lab as soon as the last word exited his mouth. He was fed up with people these days, and Wooyoung was always getting on his last nerve. People who cared about him always did, and it didn't help that part of him cared as well. He wanted to be disengaged from reality so bad, no needed to be so that if he died he wouldn't worry about anyone else. It's gone on too long like it has been, and San felt along the wall to steady himself as he made his way back to the observation room. He needed to speak with Wooyoung directly.
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"San-"
"Are you finished?"
"I was just about to go out there."
"Leave them outside the door, Jiu is taking care of it." San waved his hand out to indicate the lab down the hall.
"San-"
"Wooyoung drop it." San watched as Wooyoung obliged, and worked at gathering the holder which contained the syringes and he exited the room before returning empty handed back to San once more.
"You're not being reasonable about this." Wooyoung's eyes showed complaints and dissatisfaction, the ideas complex to San as he watched his figure enter the room.
"Why should I? It's past that now."
"Stop saying it's past that, it's not past anything, you're fine." San furrowed his brows at Wooyoung's harsh declaration.
"Wooyoung I have cancer, and VHL, and I'm dying. It's past everything." San threw his hands up, them landing with a slap against his body. There was no emotion besides anger in San's voice, and he felt that in himself, and could not stop it from growing deep in his chest.
"Then stop pushing me away! I'm trying to help you, but you're going crazy, and for what?" Wooyoung walked over to San who leaned against the wall. "What hurts right now?" San turned his head away, and Wooyoung curled his fingers around his jaw, and tilted his head back to look at his own. "San, what hurts?"
"My back."
"Is that it?"
"No." San gritted his teeth, feeling the pain even more once it was brought up.
"You need to be honest with me, or I'm leaving." San yanked his jaw from Wooyoung's cold grip, and walked over to the other side of the observation room, watching the screens from afar for a moment before making more uncomfortable eye contact.
"Wooyoung, you signed an agreement. You're stuck here, until I'm dead, or until I'm cured. Besides you don't want to leave."
"So what if I don't? Why is it so hard for you to understand that I'm here for you whether or not I sign your stupid agreement. Even Jiu would stay if you just asked her. We don't need to be held down by legal documents, that's insane."
"Then i'm insane. I'm tired of this."
"Of course you are, because you're dying right? Let me fucking help you." Wooyoung walked towards his body which could barely be held up without searing amounts of pain in his spine, but San never showed that pain, always held himself upright. It's also true that San suffered for too long without a word, but San didn't want to let his guard down, despite Wooyoung always being so close to doing it for him.
Wooyoung held his hips, stroking against his back, and supporting his weight as he pushed him against the wall slowly. San held his rigid expression as Wooyoung pressed along different parts of his back, and used his other hand to slip up his shirt.
"San, look at me."
"This is childish." He barely emitted a sound, but Wooyoung was so close it didn't matter.
"Is it?" Wooyoung continued to stroke higher up his torso, cold fingers dancing on fiery skin, tracing his chest with small patterns while never breaking his intent stare. "We're doing everything we can for you because you've already done so much, Sannie." San groaned slightly as Wooyoung pressed against his body, their torsos almost flush, and their hips making just enough contact for San's pleasure to outweigh a lot of his pain.
"I don't have enough time for this." San whispered unconvincingly, unable to stop his body from leaning into a touch which relieved so much pressure in his spine. He had no break from the pain for days now it seemed. Wooyoung found his lips and slowly eased into a kiss which left San like a delicate flower at his disposal, yet so strong and unmoving underneath Wooyoung as he slipped his tongue in. He sucked around San's tongue, sliding his hands over to relax his muscles and allow him his deserved relief as they delicately allowed their mouths to meet in feverish desire, the contrast of treatment leaving San disoriented. The weakness was adamant as the pain eased back in, always ruining these moments. Once they released, Wooyoung had to catch him before he could collapse from the intense throbbing in his spine.
"Fuck, are you okay?" He breathed out once he caught him, and trailed him over to sit in the desk chair. San's flushed face turned away in some mixture of loss of pride which could be interpreted by a less immature form of embarrassment, and Wooyoung sat beside him, holding his shoulder firmly as to comfort him in some way.
"It's fine...We need to watch their reaction to the serum." San dismissed it entirely, almost crying out from the immense pain, some of the worst he had felt in some time. Wooyoung was none the wiser, as San shared only glimpses into his suffering, a small view into his waking moments of hurt. San bit his lower lip looking at Wooyoung's swollen lips and pink tint to his cheeks. Wooyoung was too immersed in a certain screen for a moment, and San turned his attention to the two he was observing.
They sat on the bean bag chairs provided, speaking almost casually yet with serious expressions. Occasional laughs were shared, but they died down almost immediately.
"What's so interesting about them? They look the most normal out of all of these people." Wooyoung commented, pointing, but San knew where his eyes lied.
"Them? Oh not at all. You see, that one is lying about his name." San pointed to the male with long blond hair that made him appear like a prince, his nice suit so fitting on his body that even Wooyoung couldn't keep his eyes off the picture in front of him.
"Really? What about him?" Wooyoung asked pointing to the one sitting across from him. The other and his jet black hair and dreamy eyes complimented his partner exquisitely, part of why San chose them for the room. He knew they were both smart, capable of figuring each other out, and being too distracted with one another to detect San's ploy.
"He's simply intriguing, you'll see I suppose." San let out a wince at the end of his sentence which alerted Wooyoung's attention back to him. "Woo, I'm fi-"
"No, you're not. Stop being strong for me, or for anyone. It's a waste of time and energy." Wooyoung looked agitated then, eyes bouncing between pictures, and San before he placed a hand on San's knee. "Tell me what hurts, I can call Jongho he has some of those pills."
"Don't call him, I don't want to be a burden today."
"You're in pain."
"I always am." The words spoken hit Wooyoung like a blade already inserted, and he reacted like being slapped almost, turning his head to breathe in and prevent the sharp reality he was living. San knew he didn't like to see him in pain so he always hid it for his sake.
"You told me things were feeling better, San why lie to me?"
"Wooyoung, later. I'm spent trying to figure all of this out, and it's the first day with them, I need to be paying attention."
"Baby."
"Wooyoung, no, not right now."
The PA began its ringing to indicate the next phase of the experiment which shut the both of them up to pay attention as doors began to open and as Jiu's team began to administer the serum.
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